The penultimate day of the Flyers 2025 Development Camp gets underway in Voorhees on Saturday morning. Friday was a camp-wide off day for Independence Day. Meanwhile, camp concludes on Sunday with a Team Briere vs. Team Jones scrimmage.
During the summer months, diehard fans clamor for hockey to watch. Correspondingly, there’s a tendency for folks to over-analyze performances at a Development Camp. Players want to impress but they always come in with a reminder that there are no NHL jobs to be won or lost at a July hockey camp. Camp is really about getting to know the Development staff, interacting with fellow prospects in the organization and getting some on-ice training and off-ice preparation pointers. Hopefully, returning attendees demonstrate some leadership and help along the newcomers.
That’s Development Camp in a nutshell. However, one can sometimes gather useful information. I will never forget the 2012 Development Camp, where the media met 2012 first-round pick Scott Laughton for the first time. Even at age 18, he was intense and focused on the ice, absorbing everything around him.
Another memory: a breakout passing drill with the imposing Derian Hatcher (then a development coach) playing forechecker. Shayne Gostisbehere made one NHL-caliber pass after another. Far and away, his skill jumped out the most. The other standouts were Brandon Manning, Reece Willcox and camp invitees Trevor van Riemsdyk and Greg Coburn.
The Flyers, of course, drafted “Ghost” in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He’ll hit the 700 career game milestone in the NHL early in the 2025-26 season. Manning played 255 games in the NHL. Willcox spent six season in the American Hockey League, including five with the Phantoms. Undrafted Trevor van Riemsdyk never played professionally with the Flyers but James’ younger brother now has 683 games of NHL experience to his credit. Coburn, the younger brother of longtime Flyers defenseman Braydon and Gostisbehere’s freshman season defense partner at Union College, went to play in the ECHL and Europe.
Different players, different career paths. But the guys who went on to play professionally at some level were the standouts even in a Development Camp setting.
On the flip side, Flyers 2012 second-round pick Anthony Stolarz attended the same camp.Drafted out of the NAHL, the 6-foot-6 goaltender was still at a nascent stage of development. I believe Cal Heeter was also one of the attending goalies that year.
Final thought: Development staffs and camp activities sure have grown a lot since the early 2010s. Some of the seemingly off-the-cuff agility drills from the earlier camps (stuff you’d never see during the season) aren’t around these days. It’s more systematic and streamlined these days, although guest instructors (such as Wayne Simmonds) are still a fun aspect of Flyers Development Camp.
Community Caravan 2025
On Thursday, the Flyers announced their 2025 Community Caravan schedule. Those are always fun events, especially for families with young children as well as fans who come to meet Alumni and/or the occasional current player.
The first event this year is on July 15 (noon to 2 p.m. EDT) at the Sports and Civic Center in Ocean City, New Jersey.
Flyers Alumni Ireland Trip (Aug 1 to 7): Register Now
From August 1 to 7, 2025, the Flyers Alumni and Flyers fans will take a week-long trip to Ireland. Participating Alumni include John LeClair, Mark Recchi, Ian Laperriere, Bernie Parent, Bill Clement, Joe Watson, Bobby Taylor, Gary Dornhoefer, Lindsay Carson, Orest Kindrachuk. Steve Coates and more. The trip costs $5,500 per golfer and $3,500 for attendees who do not plan to golf. For more information, click here.
